Melton d



M. D. WHIPPLE.

File Cutting Machine.

Patented Feb. 1, 1859.;

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MILTON D. WHIPPLE, OF GHA-RLESTOWN, MASSAGI-LEUS'EJJTS, ASSIGNOR TO THE. WIfI-BPLE FILE. COMPANY; OF SAME PLACE.

MACHINE FOR CUTTING. FILES.

Specification of Letters PatentNo. 22,842, datedFebruary 1,,1859:

To. u all whom it may: concern:

Be-it known that. I, MILTON Di WHIPPLE, of @harlestown, in the county of Middlesex;

and: State of Massachusetts, have invented anew and: useful: Improved Machine for; Cutting Files, of which. thefollowing; full, clear, and, exact description, reference: being had, to the accompanying drawings, making; part of this specification, in: which- Figure 1, is a planof the machine;Fig 2, a side elevation andv Fig. 3, anend elevation: of the same-Fig..t, a vertical section through. one of the clamping wedges the; file blank and the chisel, on the line :10, w, of, Fig. 1..

l Vithin the past century repeated: attempts have been made to out files by machinery, but so far as I. amlinformediny no instance has the construction and operation of any machine been made public that was capable of performing itsv work satisfactorily or of. producing files that could favorably compare with; those made by hand. Among'the difliculties which have thus far proved tobe insurmountable in the cutting of files by machinery may beinstanced the following:

Firstly the steel; of which the files are manufactured is not of uniform structure or hardness and there occur soft and hard places in the blanks and when the chiselwas operated by a uniform pressure or by uniform blows of a hammer it was not found. possibleto give a uniformly roughened sunface to the file, as the indentations upon the soft places were much deeper than those upon the hard spots, and a corresponding irregularity of tooth was the result.

2d A large class of files are wider from the tang to the center than. at their extreme end, and it is obviousthat a given force whether of pressure or impact that will make the required indenture at the widest part of the file will sink the chisel too deep at the narrower part near the end. Efforts have been madeto counteract thisd-itficulty, but thus far without success, by causing the force of the blow todiminish, by diminishing gradually the distance through which the hammer falls, asthe work proceeds from the widest to the narrowest part of the file.

3rd Most files taper in thickness as well asin width, and a further allowance or ad j ustment is required, toprevent thehammer ;fromfalling through a greater distance when. operating: upon the: thin: than on; the ithick partof the blank.

4thA-s the. workman when cutting files iby, hand, adjusts his. chiseh preparatory to ;each cut by drawingit. back against the bur which constitutes the last tooth made,. the leather straps which; he employs to hold! the jblank are sufficient forthe purposefwith jmachine work however it is different, for while it is necessary that the file have a. {comparatively soft bed on which to rest for lthe projection of the teeth whiletheQd side iis being out, it is equally necessary that this jbedbe unyielding, otherwise the action ofthe hammer andchisel. upon its surface will many at different.v points, and in conjunction: with: the above requirements there is another still more rigid that the b1anlcbe-held-firmly gand immovably that it may be accurately @fed betweeni thesuccessive cuts; these conifiicting exigencies have placed further difiiculties in the path of those who. have at l tempted to cut files by machinery.

In; the machines heretofore contrived for imaking files the side of, the: blank opposite tothat being out. has rested" uponan unyield ing, bed, and as the chisel is held. rigidly,. if the blank at any part of its length be thicker upon one edge than upon theother, j the file will be imperfect at that point, owing ltotheirregular depth of the cut.and it is jnot found practical without too great an iexpenditure of labor to-forgetheblanks so accurately that the opposite sides oftheir cross sections shall always be parallel.

j The above difliculties have all been. re- 1noved by my present invention which consists Firstly in: the employment of a circular chiselwhich in; lieu of being brought up to the blank and forced into its surface by pressure or by theblow ofa hammer, is al llowed to roll over it; it being so adjusted; t o-the surface of the blank that it shall sink ;a given distance into it whether it be more or lesswide; for it isobvious that thedepth of the cut. made or the-height of bur raised" by the tool will not be influenced by the varying width. of surface that it is called to act upon. It is alsorevident if the blank be held rigidly unyielding that the depth.

' to which this cutter will sink into therblanka will not be influenced by the greater or less hardness of the material at different points if it be caused to traverse in a rigidly unyielding plane.

Secondly my invention consists in holding that face of the blank which is being cut up against a face plate or rest by pressure upon its opposite side, whereby the position of the side being cut is determined with respect to the cutter, and not that of the side opposite to the one being cut as has heretofore been the case. I thus insure uniformity of out upon each face of the blank, notwithstanding any difference of thickness that may exist upon the opposite edges or any varying thickness of the blank from end to end. And my invention consists thirdly in clamping the blanks rigidly while a cut is being made, and releasing it preparatory to its being fed, whereby I am enabled to hold it with any required degree of rigidity and to feed it with the utmost accuracy. And my invention consists fourthly in a certain device for holding the blanks while a cut is being made which will be more particularly described hereafter. And my invention consists fifthly in a machine for cutting files consisting essentially of the organization of the above features and so constructed and arranged as to cut files as will now be more fully set forth and described.

In the drawings A, is a bed or table supported upon legs B, B In suitable bearings at one end of this bed is carried a shaft C, to which is attached the driving pulleys D, a cam E, and a disk F; to the latter is pivoted at a, the connecting rod G the other end of which is pivoted at b, to a sliding carriage H. This carriage is supported on a way 0, which lies horizontally along the side of the bed A, and is secured thereto, the beveled edges 2, 3, of the way fitting into corresponding grooves in the carriage as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. The revolutions of the shaft C, impart to the carriage H, a horizontal reciprocating motion. To the top of the carriage H, is secured a block cl, which serves to carry a short shaft 0, inclined at an angle of about 45 degrees to the face of the bed A. To this shaft upon its inner end is secured the cutter f, which consists of a circular disk of tempered steel, having a beveled edge, which disk is fastened eccentrically upon the end of the shaft by a screw 4c, which passes through the disk into the end of the shaft. A plate f attached to the block (Z by screws and slots 5, serves as the inner bearing of the shaft 6, this plate is adjusted in position by means of the set screw 6, and thus the cutter is raised or lowered to vary the depthof the cut.

T o the outer end of the shaft 6, is secured a short arm h, connected by a rod 2' to a lever 70, pivoted at 7, to the side of the carriage H. A rod Z, supported in the legs B B carries two adjustable collars or stops m, 077?, against which the lower end of the lever 71:, strikes as the carriage II, is traversed back and forth, by which means the shaft 0, is caused to make a partial revolution and the cutter f, which as before stated is hung without the center of the shaft 6, is brought down to make the cut in the blank as the carriage moves in one direction and is raised up out of the way as the carriage returns that it may not mar the out just made. The manner in which the blank is held while the cut is being made, and then re leased and fed up will now be explained.

I may here state that the machine which is represented in the accompanying drawings is arranged to out two files at the same time, but as many may be arranged in front of the cutter f as is found convenient or the traverse of the carriage H, will admit of.

A stout block I, on top of the bed A, has secured to its front edge-next to the cutter f, a face plate n, back of which in a suitably inclined slot is placed the file blank 9,. the face of the blank which is to be out being in contact with and being pressed against the face plate in the following manner. In a suitable slot cut vertically down through the block I, and bed A, are placed two heavy wedges 0, which in addition to their own weight are held down by weights 9, sus pended from them by rods 1, pins 8 in the back of the wedges prevent them from falling too low or binding in their sockets, these,

wedges are raised at proper intervals to allow the blank to be fed up in the following manner, A shaft K, carried in suitable hangers from the underside of the bed A, has attached to it near one end a lever 8, connected with the levers 25 and a, upon a short shaft 1;, the lever a, resting in contact with the cam E, on the driving shaft C, so that as the cam is revolved the shaft K, is rocked, and a tappet w, on this shaft strikes the stops 9, on the rods 1', and raises the wedges 0. A plate :0, is secured to the top of the block I, in front of the wedges 0 beneath this plate in a suitable slot are inserted two small blocks 10 of metal (partly dotted in Figs. 1 and 3, and in section in Fig. 4,) which bear one against the front edge of each wedge 0, and against a shield 2, on the rear side of the file blank so that the face which is being cut is pressed against the face plate 72. I use two blocks 10, and two wedges 0, to each blank, as when the blank is wide they press more equally against both edges of it.

I will now describe the parts of the machine by which the file blank is fed up at in tervals after each out has been made.

A frame L, is secured in an inclined position (to suit the inclination given to the cuts upon the blank) beneath the bed A,

(Fig. 2), between the sides of this frame slides a block M, on the front of which is secured a nut g in which turns a screw N, having its bearings in the lower cross piece 11, of the frame L. A bevelel gear 0, on the end of this screw shaft engages with a gear P on a horizontal shaft Q, which carries another beveled gear R, that engages with a gear S, on a vertical shaft T, (dotted in Fig. 2.) The shafts Q and T are supported in suitable bearings in the frame work of the machine; the latter extends up through the bed A, and carries on its upper end a ratchet wheel V, the teeth of which are of a proper size to give the required feed. A dog 2 held in contact with the wheel V, by the springs 12 and 13, is struck by the incline 7, attached to the carriage H, each time the carriage is drawn back in the direction of its arrow, this moves the ratchet wheel V, one notch in the direction of its arrow, and through the shafts T and Q, and their gears turns the screw N and forces up the block M, the required distance, the end of the file blank resting on top of this block as shown in Fig. 2. It should be observed that the wedges 0, are raised so as to free the blanks before the feed of the block M, takes place. A handle X attached to the top of the shaft T, serves to turn back the screw N, and lower the block M, when a fresh blank is to be placed in the machine, the dog 2' being held out of the way by the operator. The blocks 10 on the side which rests against the wedge 0, are rounded as shown in Fig. 4, so that they may always have a proper bearing with the front or flat sides on the shield z, behind the file blank (or a jointed block or shoe may be used). The shield or guard a is a strip of soft metal or of steel plated with soft metal, which is secured to the top of the block M, at 15, (Fig. 4,) behind the blank g, and is fed up with the blank-it is placed in the same slot with the blank and between it and the blocks 10. This presents the face of the file which has been cut from being bruised by the blocks 10 or adhering to them while the second side of the file is being cut. The edge of the blank generally rests against the side of the slot in which it is placed if however it is desired to keep the,

blank more exactly central in the slot as it is fed up, and thus prevent any slight variation of the angle of the cuts made in it, the blank near its upper end may rest against a pin inserted in the shield z, or the edge of the shield may be turned up a little for it to rest against.

The face plate n, is slightly beveled on the side next to the blank so that its upper edge only is in contact with the face of the blank immediately below the point at which the cut is made; thus holding the blank firmly in the immediate vicinity of the cut.

The cutter f, as before stated is secured to the end of the short shaft 6, by a screw 4, passing through the center of the disk, this allows the disk or cutter to revolve freely around its center and to roll along over the surface of the blank as it makes each cut, a fresh portion of the edge of the cutter being brought into use by the revolution of the disk.

The face of the blank which is being cut resting against the face plate 71., the depth of the cut made by the revolving disk or cutter may easily be regulated, without reference to the width or thickness of the blank.

Operation: The following is the operation of this machine. The block M, is lowered and the blank q, (with the shield a, behind it) is placed in its respective slot in the front of the block I, with its lower end resting on the top of the block M, and its face which is about to be cut bearing against the face plate 71., the wedges 0, having been previously raised to allow the introduction of the blank, are dropped into place, this bindsthe blank firmly against the face plate. As the shaft C, is revolved the carriage H, is traversed back and forth on its ways. Starting from the position shown in the drawings the carriage H, is moved in the direction of its arrow, the cutter f is held up out of the way of the blank-the incline W, operates the dog a, and ratchet V, and revolves the shafts T, and Q, and screw N, moving up the block M, and blanks resting on it the required distance. Immediately before this takes place the cam E, through the levers u, t, and s, rocks the shaft K, and raises the wedges 0, so that the blank is released to allow it to be fed up. When the carriage reaches the end of its traverse in this direction, the lever k, 011 the side of it strikes the stop m and the short shaft 6, in the block (Z is revolved sufiiciently to bring the cutter f down so that its lower edge will cut into the blank as the carriage returns, before the carriage commences to move in the opposite direction to make the cut, the shaft K, is'rocked in the opposite direction and the wedges 0, are lowered into place to hold the blank. The operation is then repeated until the cutting is completed.

hat I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. The circular rolling cutter f operating in the manner substantially as set forth.

2. I claim holding the face of the blank which is being cut up to a face plate or rest by pressure upon its opposite side for the purpose specified.

3. I claim clamping the blank rigidly while a cut is being made and releasing it preparatory to its being fed as set forth.

4. I claim the wedges 0, operating as set forth for the purpose of clamping the blanks as described.

5. I claim the shield 2, against which the and operating in the manner substantialb blank 9 rests and which is fed up With the as set forth.

blank inthe manner and for the )ut 3086 T I substantially as set forth. 1 1 MILTOA VHIPPLE 5 6. I claim the Within described machine lVit-nesses:

for cutting files consisting essentially of the THos. RoAoH,

combination of the elements above claimed THOS. L. GLOVER. 

